New breakfast club in Islington for armed forces veterans

ISLINGTON is to get a new breakfast club dedicated to ex-service personnel and war veterans.

The monthly meeting will allow men and women who have served their country to socialise as well as discuss issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Organiser Peter McCafferty, pageant master at Islington remembrance parades, said: “The aim is to bring people together and get service people out of their homes who have perhaps not been able to join anything before.

“For the servicemen and women it’s perhaps a way of talking about what happened without making them upset.”

There are only a handful of similar clubs across London, with the nearest in Fulham. They are part of the nationwide Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Clubs.

Mr McCafferty, a RAF driver for 25 years and former church warden at St John’s Church in Upper Holloway, hopes to bring veterans together to share their stories.

“It’s a big step,” said Mr McCafferty, a member of Islington Veterans Association. Like the breakfast club, the association welcomes ex-fire, police or ambul­ance service personnel.

The first breakfast meeting is tomorrow (Saturday) from 9am to 11am at Fish Central, in Central Street, Finsbury. Cost is £5 for a cooked breakfast or cereal or toast, and a hot drink.

Veterans from as far as St Albans are expected. If the meeting is a success, it is expected to be held every third Saturday of the month at the same venue.